A “reprehensible” woman preyed on people’s loneliness during the first Coronavirus lockdown – promising them puppies that they never received.
Lisa-Marie McDonald ran an elaborate scam, advertising Labradoodle puppies for up to £2,500 with no intention of supplying customers with furry companions.
The 42-year-old took £200 deposits for the dogs and then refused to pay the money back to the buyers who soon became suspicious of the dodgy deals.
McDonald left the prospective puppy owners hanging for weeks, making various excuses – including telling one victim that her overdue puppy had gone blind.
No dogs were ever delivered to the buyers, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Fiscal depute Lydia Ross told the court that in May 2020 both of McDonald’s victims saw an online advertisement selling Labradoodle puppies for between £2,000 and 2,500 each.
McDonald called the women to let them know she’d put them on a puppy “waiting list” and asked them to pay a £200 deposit to reserve the dogs.
The court heard that the fraudster then sent pictures of a Labradoodle puppy to one woman, before asking for more money to pay for “vets bills”.
The customer began to “feel uncomfortable” about the situation after she queried her situation with a local veterinary practice that informed her she shouldn’t be paying bills at that stage.
She reported the scam to the police and contacted McDonald to get her deposit back but received no response.
Second victim gets suspicious
Another woman also paid a deposit but became suspicious when she tried to make arrangements with McDonald to visit the puppy.
“The accused informed her that she may have Covid and the appointment was cancelled”, Ms Ross said.
“The contact from the accused then became sporadic with the complainer frequently messaging and receiving no response.
“She asked the accused to call her as she was getting suspicious.”
Ms Ross said McDonald then contacted the concerned customer and told her that the puppy had gone blind and it was unlikely she would be able to sell it.
When the woman requested that McDonald return her money, she was told that it was “being used for vets fees”.
After warning McDonald that she would call the police, she returned £100 but claimed the remaining £100 of the deposit was “non-refundable”.
‘She was in a lot of debt’
McDonald, formerly of Kintore but now of Royal Walk in Nairn, pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud.
Her defence agent Sian Grant told the court that her client had taken more orders for puppies than she had puppies to sell.
“She was in a lot of debt and acted in a stupid way to try to get herself out of the situation,” the solicitor said.
“Ms McDonald knew that what she had done was not right and she allowed it to spiral out of control.
“She wants to pay everyone back and she is extremely sorry.”
‘Accepted her guilt’
Sheriff Andrew Miller told McDonald that it was good that she had “accepted her guilt” over allowing two women to believe they were purchasing puppies.
However, he added: “This would be a poor way to behave at the best of times but is particularly reprehensible at a time when the country was in lockdown and a lot of people did seek companionship from having a dog.”
Sheriff Miller ordered McDonald to pay a fine of £300 and £230 compensation to her victims.
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